Jockey Rene Douglas, banned from Calder Race Course in south Florida for unknown reasons, was back in the saddle Jan. 1, riding James DiVito-trained Gostoso to a seventh-place finish in the seventh race at Hawthorne.

Hawthorne Race Course, which opens for live racing Sept. 15, and TVG have ended their exclusive contract, which led the Illinois track to strike deals with Youbet.com and XpressBet to offer wagering on its signal.

Chicago-area Thoroughbred racing action shifts Sept 15 to Hawthorne Race Course, where officials are encouraged by the number of stall applications--2,400 for 2,050 spots. Last fall, Hawthorne averaged more than nine horses per race.

The Jan. 2 closing-day Thoroughbred program at Hawthorne Race Course may be the last live racing action of any kind in the Chicago area for a while. A dispute over purses has resulted in cancellation of harness racing at Balmoral Park and Maywood Park on the first two days of the New Year.

The 17-year-old apprentice Kyle Kaenel, out since April with two fractured vertebrae and a broken shoulder, rode his first winner since being injured when he brought home Edward Fortino's 3-year-old Dobson in the sixth race at Hawthorne on Sunday.

Hawthorne isn't wasting any time presenting its premier event. Just two days into the meeting, the Chicago track will host the $750,000 Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap (gr. II), and those ready to battle it out in Saturday's 1 1/4-mile race include the past two winners.

With few standouts to emerge on the Kentucky Derby trail, a field of nine will be headed to Saturday's $500,000 Illinois Derby (gr. II) Hawthorne Park to see if they are the next to jump up and make a splash in the 3-year-old division.

Bare Necessities, winner of the 2003 Sixty Sails Handicap at Hawthorne Race Course, will look to make it two years in a row when she returns to the Illinois track for the grade III, 1 1/8-mile event for fillies and mares April 24.

Unseasonably warm temperatures in the Chicago area and field sizes that averaged more than nine horses per race helped boost the numbers during the opening weekend of the National Jockey Club meet at Hawthorne Racecourse.

Live racing returns to the Chicago area Friday as the National Jockey Club at Hawthorne opens its spring meet at the track near Cicero, Ill. Opening day features a 10-race card with first post at 1:10 p.m. The 47-day meet runs through May 13

One day after leading to cancellation of the last two races at Hawthorne Race Course in Illinois, high winds also cancelled the Thursday card at New York's Aqueduct, Laurel Park in Maryland, and Woodbine in Canada.

The live racing season ends Sunday at Monmouth Park near Oceanport, N.J., and at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg, but as those parks prepare to lay low for the winter, Hawthorne, Oak Tree, and Turf Paradise are gearing up for openings this weekend.

Ten Most Wanted, a contender for Saturday's $500,000 Illinois Derby (gr. II), work an easy half Tuesday at Hawthorne. He went :25.2, :38.0, and :49.4 in a breeze, galloping out 1:03.3 for the five-eigths of a mile under jockey Larry Sterling Jr. for trainer Wally Dollase.